~Post TNS~
Paris was supposed to be the highlight of their trip.
To be fair, for most of their first day spent in the city, it was – at least for Richelle. Between the iconic landmarks, the famous museums and even the delicious food, she hadn't been disappointed at all. But then it started raining (more like pouring), her and Noah's Airbnb turned out to be a scam and just like that, the dream became a complete nightmare.
Now here they are, standing in front of what was supposed to be 'their' building at past 10pm, soaking wet and trying to find a new place to spend the night without having to sell any of their organs to afford it. Paris is beautiful, but Paris is also so damn expensive – especially when you want to book something so last minute.
They were meant to be on a two-week long trip around Europe with Piper, Amy and Henry, but the three of them had fell through and there was no excuse for the two of them not to just go themselves. To be fair, it had been amazing, travelling the world with each other, they were Best Friends. Until Paris.
"Okay, I think I found something," Noah's voice suddenly rises into the dark, cold air.
Despite the hope that builds up in her core at his words, Richelle can't retain the rush of guilt that comes coursing through her as she stares at him. (There's something else, there, too, in the pit of her stomach – a feeling she's become more aware than she ever did in the past three weeks they've spent wandering around Europe together – but she chooses to ignore it. It's better this way.)
He's wearing nothing but a plaid shirt that's now sticking to his (incredibly fit) body, with droplets of water falling from his damp hair and down to his face while she is tucked inside his very comfortable leather jacket on top of her own clothes. She tried to talk him out of wrapping her in it, argued that she wasn't that cold even if she was, in fact, freezing but he didn't let her have it.
So now because of her, he's the freezing one.
"It's only like 27€ and it's really close to here. It says it's for two but I can only see one bed, though." Noah offers Richelle a weak smile while he hands her his phone so that she can judge for herself.
Under any other circumstances, she would have thoroughly read through every line of the Airbnb's offer and studied the picture for more than the ten seconds she allows herself to look at it right now. She would have taken a moment to fully consider everything. She would have probably called the landlady, a certain Mme Bertrand, and ask for more information.
But at that moment, her mind is just as frozen as the rest of her being. It prevents her from thinking too much. All she wants – all she craves – is to take a good hot shower and get rid of these soaked clothes as soon as possible. She needs the warmth of a bed while being tucked under the covers. She doesn't really care about the rest.
"Just book it," Richelle says then as she gives Noah back his device. "If it says it's for two, there must be another bed somewhere that's not in the picture."
~~~
Unless there isn't – she realizes with wild horror as they pass through the door to the tiniest apartment she's ever seen in her life.
If you can call it an apartment, with its only two rooms – one living/bedroom and one bathroom. There's not even enough space for a kitchen.
Indeed, the main room only consists of one table, one chair and... one single bed. Richelle can't keep her eyes away from the latter while a rush of panic takes over her as the realization hits her. She's gonna have to sleep inside said bed with Noah. There's absolutely no escaping it.
It wouldn't be a problem, usually. She's not one to mind sharing a bed with someone else – whether they're of the same gender or not. She had to do it tons of times as a child, during family gatherings, when there wouldn't be enough beds for all of her and her cousins. The situation here is different, though.
Because Noah is her Best Friend, yes, but she also likes him. As in, she has romantic feelings for him – has had for a while, to be honest.
And she sometimes talks in her sleep. She can't help but worry about what could unconsciously slip out of her mouth in such a close and intimate setting, then.
"I think there's a mistake, here," Noah talks, taking Richelle out of her meandering thoughts. When she looks at him, she sees him staring at Mme Bertrand, who turned out to be some cute old Parisian lady living in the apartment downstairs. His hand is scratching the back of his neck in what Richelle recognizes as a nervous tic. "We booked a room for two people."
He nods towards the bed and raises two fingers for emphasis. The woman simply smiles in return.
"Oui," she says. "C'est le lieu parfait pour un couple." Her smile grows wider as she winks amusedly at Richelle before bringing her attention back onto Noah. Richelle can feel her ears and cheeks start to burn in a blush at her words – she's not fluent but can still understand some French from the classes she took in school.
"No no no, see, that's what I'm talking about. We? Not a couple." Noah doesn't give up just yet. He seems to have a least caught the one similar word as well. "We're just friends. We need two beds." All along, he gestures between the two of them to try and make the old lady get what he's explaining to her.
In vain. She only shoots him another smile. "Oui, oui." Then nods again.
Noah lets out a frustrated groan. "Isn't there anyone I can talk to who speaks English?"
"English?" she repeats. "Mon fils vit en Angleterre."
He sighs. He tries to have a conversation with her for a little longer, although it remains the same – they can't seem able to understand each other. Richelle just watches them from afar, sitting on the small bed after having taken off Noah's jacket to dry. Any another time, she would have found the situation funny (and even cute, on Noah's part) but not right now.
Right now, she's just tired and already dreading the night to come as her hands curl around the warm sheets.
After a few more minutes of misunderstanding between the two, she can feel the bed shift next to her when Noah joins her after Mme Bertrand has left the place with a last smile and a polite 'bonne nuit'. They sit in silence, neither one of them looking at the other while their shoulders slightly brush together. They can hear the wind whirling against the only window as rain is still pouring down outside.
It doesn't seem to be calming down anytime soon.
"I can try and find a better place," Noah eventually offers. His eyes are on her, piercing through her core when she looks up at him.
"It's too late." Richelle lets out a small defeated sigh. "Let's just... try to dry our stuff, take a shower and go to sleep. It's only for one night, right?" She attempts a smile in his direction.
She hopes he can't read the nervousness.
A beat passes before he answers anything – a few seconds during which he stares intently at her. It's hard for Richelle to stay still and hold his gaze during that moment.
"Right," he agrees then reaches for his backpack. "You can have the bathroom first if you want. You're still shivering." His voice is soft; she can almost hear some concern, there. Her heart warms up at his words and she takes a beat to look at him.
He's right, though – she's still so cold. "Thanks," she simply says, before grabbing some of her dryer clothes and heading to the other room. Once all alone and locked inside, she takes a deep breath and starts changing.
It's only for one night, she tries to convince herself, attempting to relish in the pleasurable feeling of the hot water dripping over her body. It helps soothing her a little.
When she finally gets out of the bathroom, Richelle finds Noah right where she left him – sitting on the bed. He's now playing with his phone as both his and her clothes are laid out anywhere he could find a space to dry them out. A pang takes over Richelle's chest as she watches him. She clears her throat to make her presence known.
"The bathroom's all yours," she says when he looks up at her with a smile.
His eyes wander behind her for a second – towards the open room and all the steam that's flooding out of it – and he lets out an amused chuckle.
"Hope you didn't steal all the hot water!" he gently teases her.
Richelle blushes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sorry. I like to take hot showers. Especially when I'm drenched."
"I know." Noah only grins in return.
He then stands up and starts walking in her direction after picking up his stuff, knocking their shoulders together playfully. He stops and turns around before he locks himself inside the bathroom, though, like he just remembered something he wanted to tell her.
"Oh, by the way, I picked the left side of the bed, I hope you don't mind?"
She frowns, a little confused. "What about your whole 'I want to sleep as far away from the door as possible so that I'm not the first one to be murdered if a criminal were to come in' speech?" she wonders. He told her that as they settled inside their first Airbnb apartment at the beginning of their trip and has lived by this statement every night since.
(She won't lie, she felt a little disappointed he'd dare to let her die first in such a scenario.)
"Well, it's the side I usually sleep in on my bed. Plus this time, I'll have you in the room with me to protect me from any criminals." He shoots her a playful grin.
Richelle wonders how he can be so chill about all of this.
(She knows how, actually – for him, he's just having a sleepover in Paris with one of his best friends. He doesn't have these romantic feelings getting in the way of his judgment in the situation.)
She tries not to let her emotions show too much as she rolls her eyes at him. "Just go take your shower." She does her best to sound exasperated despite her pounding heart.
Once alone in the room, she lets herself fall onto her designated side of the bed with a sigh. She takes out her phone and goes straight to her list of contacts. She needs to vent to someone.
To: Pipes
I know you're in a different time zone but Piper, please... I need help. I'm stuck in a one single bed situation with Noah. How do I keep it cool?
Through the door, Richelle can hear the notes of what she thinks she recognizes as a Taylor Swift song mingling with the sound of Noah's own voice. Despite her attempts to surprise her feelings, a smile forms over her features. She quickly shakes her head and goes through her emails to keep her mind occupied while waiting for her friend's answer.
It takes a few minutes before her phone buzzes with a new text message.
Pipes sent a picture.
Richelle's brows furrow with curiosity as she hurries to open it up. She readies herself to receive some annoyed reaction GIF from her friend – what she gets instead is totally unexpected. It's a screenshot of what seems like a conversation Piper and Noah were just having.
________________________________
From: Noah
PIPER!!! RICHELLE AND I ARE SHARING A BED TONIGHT i'm going to mess it up so bad.
how do i not mess it up? i like her so so much how do i *not* tell her when she's sleeping so close to me?
Piper you know i move a lot in my sleep. what if i end up inadvertently cuddling her? i don't want to make things weird between us........
please pipes i need some advice.
________________________________
She stares at the screen with her mouth half-open for a hot second, reading the words over and over while barely registering them. When it finally hits her that Noah likes her (so so much, apparently) and that, just like her, he doesn't know how to keep it cool. Richelle doesn't really have the time to react because the sound of something falling down and a curse coming from the bathroom take her out of her trance.
"Everything okay?" she asks in a weak voice. Her heart is beating so fast in her chest now that she feels it's going to explode.
A moment of silence follows her question. It really doesn't help her to calm down, especially when she realizes that there's no more music playing on the other side.
"Yeah, uh..." Noah eventually answers, trailing off. He sounds nervous. "It's just my phone. It fell down in the toilet."
"Oh." She doesn't know what else to say.
Another beat passes until the sound of the lock being opened resonates through the walls and Noah suddenly appears in front of her. He's wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, droplets of water still falling on his bare chest, his wet hair curling in dark waves and steam surrounding him. Richelle can't help but stare with her mouth half-open for a second.
i like her so so much.
what if i end up inadvertently cuddling her?
The image of his texts come back to her mind, and she can't help but think that she'd love to be cuddling with him right now – and more.
He clears his throat, forcing her eyes up towards him. She can feel the blush spreading from her ears to her cheeks as she realizes she's been staring too long. He's watching her while scratching the back of his neck.
"Did, huh–... did Piper send you something... anything, by any chance?" He doesn't look at her as he talks.
At first, Richelle frowns – how does he know?! – but then he hits her. Piper didn't just send her a screenshot of Noah's conversation; she must have sent him a picture of her own text as well.
Which means he knows about her feelings. The same feelings he seems to be sharing.
Richelle starts to laugh. This situation is so surreal and ridiculous. It makes her wonder – how long has passed with the both of them being attracted to the other without having a clue about their feelings?!
"What?" Noah asks.
"Sorry, it's just... Piper did send me something." She offers him her brightest beam. In front of her, she sees his features somehow soften. "And I guess she sent you a screenshot too?"
He smiles. "She did. And I must say, for someone who was asking for advice about how to keep it cool... You seemed to keep it a lot cooler than I did. I mean, I literally broke my phone when I read your text." He shows her the device for emphasis and Richelle chuckles. She feels warm, right now – oh-so-warm. And it doesn't come from her now dry clothes and the hot shower she just took.
"We're so stupid." She shakes her head in disbelief. Noah raises an eyebrow.
"We almost spent the most awkward night of our lives for fear of messing things up with each other when we both want the same thing." she explains.
He laughs, but Richelle can tell it's a little nervous and shy. He lowers his gaze, somehow unable to meet her eyes anymore. "So, huh... you really want this? I mean, you and me, together?"
His irises are shining with hope when he looks back at her. She takes a step forward and puts a hand on his arm, stroking gently.
"I do." She smiles at him and in return, he grins.
"Cool. That's super cool."
His eyes wander off again for a few seconds, as if lost in his thoughts before settling on her and staring deep into her own. A silent beat passes while none of them looks away. Then, without a warning nor any other word, he breaks the remaining distance between their two bodies and kisses her. His arms wrap around her back while hers find their place around his neck. Her fingers come absentmindedly playing with the curls at the base of his neck, still a little wet from his recent shower, while she lets herself melt inside his embrace.
Any ounce of nervousness she had left in her chest from this whole damn, there's only one single bed, situation disappears at once.
On the contrary, as they eventually find their way under the covers afterwards, Richelle feels nothing but pure bliss overwhelming her.
"For what it's worth," she whispers against Noah's ear when they're both comfortably tucked in. "You don't have to worry about cuddling me inadvertently. I'd be okay with that." She shoots him a knowing look, to which he simply answers with a smirk of his own before wrestling her into a tight, loving hug, both giggling – he doesn't need for her to tell him twice to do as she says.
She can feel his whole body relax against her own as he presses a soft kiss at the top of her head and she knows she feels just as calm. She watches him close his eyes with a contented smile painted on his features – she's most likely wearing the same one on her own face.
Before she lets sleep take her in too, she takes a last peek at her phone to check the time. There, she sees Piper sent another text right after she shared the screenshot with her.
From: Pipes
Goodnight, dumb-dumbs.
It makes her smile as she turns towards Noah, whose hand is weighing around her waist, keeping her close to him while he's already falling asleep.
Yeah, this is definitely going to be a good night, she thinks as she snuggles further against his side and finally closes her eyes as well with a small satisfied sigh.
(In the end, Paris did turn out to be the highlight of their trip indeed.)
~~~
Their trip last year inspired meeee